Dream Out Loud
by sparksfly16
Summary: When Ariadne doesn't wake up from a practice run, the team decides to go back in and rescue her. But they get a little more than they bargained for when the dream turns into a game. A game where Ariadne must face her biggest fears, or be stuck forever.
1. Still Asleep

**Author's Note: **So lately I've been reading a lot of Inception fics and I thought I'd try one out. So here it is and yes, it will eventually be Ariadne and Arthur. So tell me what you think!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Inception

**

* * *

**

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

_Beep. Beep._

Cobb groaned and slowly opened his eyes. Without looking at what he was doing, he removed the needle that was jammed into his arm.

_Another day, another dream run,_ he thought as each of his co-workers woke up and removed their own needle.

"Well that was an interesting run," Eames declared with a grin. He was met with a smirk from Cobb and an icy stare from Arthur.

"I think we need more paradoxes," the point man conveyed. "That was child's play."

"Ariadne, are you just going to let him insult your work?" Eames asked. The forger was met with silence. "Ariadne?"

The three men fell silent as they caught sight of Yusuf standing over the youngest member of their team.

Her head was dropped forward and a needle was still dangling from her arm.

_She was still asleep._

Eames looked at the countdown clock that still had five zeros as its time and gave it a few whacks, while Arthur and Cobb rushed over to the sleeping girl.

Cobb crouched in front of Ariadne, studying her soft breathing and closed eyes. "What's wrong with her?"

There was a long pause until, eventually, Yusuf reluctantly admitted he didn't know.

"Prop her chair up and give her another kick," the leader of the team instructed.

The chemist and point man did as told, but when the chair legs finally hit the ground the only reaction was a soft _thud!_

"We could try dunking her in water, that always works for you, Cobb," the Brit joked.

Arthur whirled on him. "You think this is funny?"

His antagonist was shocked silent at the sudden derail of the details man's calmness.

"Shut up, both of you!" Cobb finally demanded.

They turned to look at the man in charge, all four of them silently thinking the same thing. "What are we going to do?" Eames finally asked.

Cobb looked down at the floor. "I don't know. She's probably stuck in limbo, but I have no clue how to get her back." The man looked back up at his team.

_"I've never seen anything like this before," he admitted painfully._

At this declaration, the team fell silent; all rubbing their eyes and frowning. What were they going to do? What _could_ they do?

"Hey," Eames called out to them. "Hey, look at this!"

The men walked over to the countdown clock the forger had been viciously staring at and watched as it changed from 0:00:00 to 3:00:00.

"What the heck is happening?" Yusuf finally spoke.

"We have to go back in," Arthur decided.

Cobb looked at his wingman. "Now hold on Arthur, you know I can't just go into this headfirst. I just got my family back."

"It's Ariadne, Cobb," the point man seemed to plead.

"_I know_. But I have a family to think about."

"Ariadne _is _a part of your family."

Cobb closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Fine."

A ghost of a smile passed over Arthur's features, but it was gone before anyone could double-check it.

"Did he just?" Eames questioned. "Nah, not possible."

"Okay, let's get started," Cobb announced. "Yusuf, you stay here and be the watchguard. Give us enough sedative for three hours and then have a kick ready when those three hours are up. We're coming back _with_ or _without_ Ariadne, understood?"

The team members all agreed to Cobb's terms, though one of them was a bit more reluctant than the rest.

Yusuf worked quickly at hooking them all back up.

"See you guys in three hours," he waved as their eyes drifted shut. "Good luck."

_Three..._

_Two..._

_One..._

* * *

_Into your head, into your mind_  
_out of your soul, race through your veins_  
_You can't escape, you can't escape._  
_-Rush, Aly & AJ_


	2. Dream a Little Game for You

Arthur straightened his tie as he and the rest of the team entered the building that was the first level out of who knows how many in Ariadne's dream world.

"A casino?" Eames mused as he took in the scene around him. "I didn't think the girl had it in her."

"Does anyone see her?" Cobb questioned.

He was met with a duets of _nos._

"Hi Arthur," a red-head projection of a woman cooed.

Eames gaped as the projection passed on by. "What was _that_?"

Arthur appeared just as befuddled as his teammates were. "How should I know?"

Cobb shook his head, refocusing. "Let's just spread out, and be careful; her projections are already starting to notice us."

The forger nodded and set off for the gambling tables eagerly, while the point man disappeared into the shadows.

The leading extractor himself stayed at the top balcony overlooking the entire room.

"Where are you, Ariadne?" He muttered out loud, as he surveyed the various guests in the room.

"She's not here."

A woman dressed to the nines came up beside Cobb and rested her elbows lightly on the wooden banister.

"What are you, an extractor?" Cobb asked casually.

_Silence_

"Who do you work for?" He pestered.

"I'm a projection darling," the woman finally drawled. "Why don't we go somewhere we can all talk privately?" She asked as Eames and Arthur stepped back onto the balcony.

* * *

"You're probably wondering what exactly is going on here," the woman said later on.

Cobb, Arthur, and Eames were now sitting in a box suite, secluded from the rest of the bustling casino.

Eames snorted. "That's an understatement, if I've ever heard one."

Arthur rolled his eyes and shifted his attention from his irritating co-worker to the projection in front of him. "Where's Ariadne?"

"She's in the next level, waiting for all of you to join her," the woman responded curtly.

The three men exchanged a shared looked of confusion.

"What do you mean 'the next level'?" Arthur asked.

"You mean to tell me that you three smart, handsome men haven't figured out what's going on yet?" The projection laughed. "You see when Ariadne's subconscious first found out about extraction, we thought it would be fun to have a little game."

"A game?" Eames repeated.

"Yes," the woman nodded enthusiastically. "We want Ariadne to face her greatest fears, so we gave her another three hours to face those fears, with each one being a different level of the dream."

"So after three hours, we all just wake up?" Arthur questioned.

"Ah, that's where the game gets fun," the projected interrupted. "You three will wake up after three hours, but Ariadne won't if she doesn't face all her fears in time. She'll be stuck here _forever_."

"And what if I just shoot her the next time I see her so she wakes up?" Eames suggested.

"She won't wake up, she'll just go to limbo."

The team was silent as the digested this last piece of information.

"Fine," Cobb finally spoke. "We'll play along. When do we get to see Ariadne?"

The woman smiled and walked over to a door in the room. "You can go find her right now."

As the door creaked open, Cobb could hear the familiar sounds of the city coming from the other side.

"Welcome to Level 2 gentlemen," the projection bid a farewell as each man went through the door.

"Good luck and _game on_."

* * *

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews, I'm glad you all like the story so much!**

**We'll get to see Ariadne in the next chapter.**


	3. She Went that A'way

The rain fell down relentlessly on the city of Ariadne's dream world, or as it was now known as, 'Level 2 of Whatever the Heck Messed Up Game this Was'.

Arthur thought about the rain as he waited impatiently for either Cobb or Eames to come pick him up.

He remembered that this kind of rain was Ariadne's favorite.

The kind, she had told him, "that makes you want to go out and dance in, not caring how soaked your clothes get."

Smiling to himself, completely lost in his own thoughts, Arthur didn't notice Eames and Cobb pull up in a-presumably, stolen-car.

That is, he didn't notice them until he was drenched in even more water than the rain would dare threaten him with.

"Sorry Arthur, I couldn't stop him," Cobb said from the passenger's seat with a suspicious smirk.

"You know I couldn't let a perfectly good puddle go to waste," Eames replied as, a now sopping wet, Arthur got in the car. "Now, where is that girl hiding?"

The point man searched his entire mind, trying to think where Ariadne would be.

"There she is!"

Eames veered to the right with a tire-burning screech, following the way Cobb was pointing.

"You two go out and get her," Eames directed. "I can't fit the car any farther."

The two men nodded and continued down the alleyway to the young girl waiting at the end.

"Ariadne?" Cobb called out when they were close enough.

She didn't respond and Arthur worried that she was unconscious.

As they walked closer, her head shot up. Her face was bloody and bruised, with a huge cut cracking her lower lip in half.

"Get away from me," she growled.

The men exchanged a wary look before Cobb crouched in front of her.

"Who did this to you?"

She laughed bitterly. "Like you don't know."

Arthur tried to ask her again. "Who did-"

"You did!" Ariadne screamed. "Your stupid projection beat me up!"

"What's this little ruckus about?" Eames asked, coming up to the them.

"Eames!"

The three men looked shocked as Ariadne ran over to the forger and hugged him. "Where's the car?"

"Back there, I'll take you to it," he offered while never taking his eyes off Arthur.

"You okay?" Cobb asked as they watched the two teammates walk to the waiting car.

"Why wouldn't I be?" The point man questioned robotically, his professional side ever present.

Cobb smiled sadly at his best friend. "You can't just sit back and wait for things to happen Arthur. She's not going to wait forever."

The two men locked in a stare down, trying to prove who had the better judgement.

Finally, Arthur backed down, kicked a piece of garbage on his way back to the car.

"She wants you to sit back there with her," Eames informed Cobb when they were all back at the car.

"Ariadne, I'm sorry, but I can't sit back there," Cobb lied. "I get really carsick unless I sit up in the front."

Eames turned to look at the girl. "If you're my friend, you won't make me suffer through that."

"Okay," she shrugged. "I'll just sit back here by myself."

"There's not enough room up front for all three of us," Arthur said curtly.

She glared at him. "I'm sure you could manage in the trunk."

"Ariadne," Cobb warned.

The girl's maturity sometimes clouded the team from remembering how young she is and how unfamiliar this all is to her-especially this dream game. Whenever the dream became too much for her, Cobb always stepped in as the father figure for the young girl.

"I'm sorry Cobb," she let out a deep breath. "I just don't feel good and I'm...scared."

"It'll be alright," he assured her. "We all just have to trust each other."

Ariadne nodded and scooted to the right so Arthur could get in.

Neither one noticed that the divider separating the front seats from the back ones had oh-so-subtly slid up.

"Does it hurt?" Arthur asked the girl staring out the window, referring to her various cuts and bruises.

Ariadne responded with a glare before turning back to her post at the window.

"Would you please talk to me?" The point man pleaded.

"Do you know what it felt like?" She whipped her head so fast that her tresses hit the window with a vicious slap. "How much it hurt me to see the cold look in your eyes as I begged you to leave me alone?"

"Ari, that wasn't me," he pointed out.

"It was so easy to picture it really being you though," the girl sighed and looked at the carpet. "Look, not many people have the ability to hurt me emotionally. But you, your one of the few people who can," she looked back up and met his eyes. "And that scares me."

"Ariadne," Arthur said, cupping her chin. "I promise you, I will never, ever hurt you."

"Thank you."

The two shared a smile before returning to their own thoughts.

Meanwhile, up in the front seats, the two eldest members of the team also shared a knowing smile.

* * *

_"If this is love, please don't break me  
I'm giving up so just catch me,"_

_-_Catch Me, Demi Lovato

* * *

**i know ariadne was way out of character, but i hope it was explained well at the end of the chapter **


	4. The Art of Rejection

"Darling, why are we in a ballroom?" Eames addressed Ariadne, while smoothing out his tux.

"Well from what you guys told me, my subconscious wants me to face my fears right?" She replayed. "So I'm afraid of something in this room, besides seeing you three in tuxedos."

"Any idea what that something is?" Cobb asked, taking a sip of champagne.

She shook her head. "Not a clue. I don't normally attend things like this."

"I'll figure it out," Arthur replied.

He took the glass of alcohol out of Ariadne's left hand-despite her protests- and strolled over to a projection standing to the side of the dance floor, looking rather uncomfortable.

"Would you like to dance?" Arthur asked the woman, offering her Ariadne's glass.

The woman merely smiled and shook her head.

"No?" He looked her straight in the eyes. "You don't like dancing, do you?"

"Dancing's fine, I'm just always afraid of asking someone to dance and getting rejected."

The point man smiled again. "I completely understand. Well, let my know if you change your mind."

The woman smiled with a nod before returning her attention to the dance floor.

"Eames," Arthur called out when he returned to his friends. "A moment please."

"Excuse me love," the forger winked at Ariadne and stepped off to the side where Arthur was motioning for him.

"What can I do for you darling?" He asked upon arrival.

Arthur gestured to the many guests floating around them. "What man would reject Ariadne's proposal to dance?"

Eames raised an eyebrow, but eventually turned to survey the projections.

"That man," he nodded toward a young man currently standing by the bar. "He's only danced with blondes the entire night."

Arthur nodded his head in thought and reverted back to Ariadne's side.

"You should ask someone to dance," he suggested.

"Are you offering?" She asked with a bemused smile.

He shook his head. "Sorry, I don't dance. But," he pointed to the man Eames had singled out earlier. "I noticed _he_ is an excellent dancer."

Ariadne looked at him skeptically. "So you think I should ask him to dance?"

"Precisely."

"Why?"

"Humor me," Arthur grinned.

After several intense moments of staring, the young girl finally caved.

Arthur watched as she strolled over to the man and asked him to dance.

The finicky man declined just like Eames had predicted.

Again, Arthur watched as Ariadne sauntered back over to him.

"He didn't want to dance with me," she announced.

Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur saw the projection he had been talking to earlier, twirling around the dance floor. "Well, it's his loss."

Ariadne smiled and turned to look at him. "Arthur, would you like to dance with me?"

He smirked. "I told you I don't dance."

"Yeah, but you were lying."

Arthur kept his pokerface on even though he was surprised on the inside. "Fair enough."

He took her hand and led her out onto the dance floor, wrapping his hands around her waist.

She wound her arms around his neck as they swayed to the music.

"So why did you want me to ask that guy to dance even though you knew he'd say no?" Ariadne asked.

"What?"

"That guy only dances with girls who have blonde hair, and by the way you were so insistent I ask him to dance, that can only mean you knew he would say no," she smirked at him. "So, why?"

"You're afraid of asking people to dance," was his vague reply.

Ariadne paused for a brief second, before continuing on with the dance. "What do you mean?"

"Your subconscious didn't want to dance with me when I asked; it told me you're afraid of asking someone in case they say no," he clarified.

"But I asked you," she pointed out, stubbornly.

"Yes, because you faced your fear and then overcame it," Arthur explained.

"So we can leave this level now?" She asked.

"Yes," he smirked. "But after the song finishes."

Ariadne gave him the same accusing look she had given him after the kiss, but didn't say anything.

* * *

_You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless_  
_And I don't know why but with you I dance_  
_In a storm in my best dress, fearless_

-Fearless, Taylor Swift

* * *

**okay so even though it's really far away, i have two different ideas for the ending, so what would you guys like to see happen?**


	5. All You Do is Let Me Down

"Now this is more my style," Eames grinned as the bartender slid him what had to be his sixth or seventh glass of the night.

"I thought anything with alcohol was your style," Ariadne quipped.

"No, anything with alcohol and dim lighting is his style," Arthur leaned closer to Ariadne. "It makes for poor judgement."

Cobb smiled as he watched the two interact with each other. He noticed that Arthur subconsciously moved whenever Ariadne did and he couldn't help but wonder if Ariadne did too.

"So why a bar?" Eames asked the girl next to him.

She shrugged. "I'd say karaoke, but I actually like that."

"You like karaoke?" Arthur repeated, sounding a little surprised.

"Oh yeah," She nodded her head enthusiastically. "I'm surprised that didn't come up in the background check you conducted about me."

Eames laughed and even Cobb smiled.

"She got you there, darling," the forger grinned and took a shot.

"It should have come up in the research," Arthur grumbled to himself.

"Everyone, please welcome our dear friend, Ariadne to the stage," a projection announced loudly.

"Here it comes," Ariadne grimaced, hopping up from her seat at the bar and heading to the stage.

"Ariadne, please sit," the same projection ushered her into a lone chair set up in the middle of the stage.

Taking a moment to make herself comfortable with the hostile scene that was sure to come, Ariadne finally spoke. "What can I help you with?"

"We just want to get to know you a little better, that's all," the woman said rather innocently.

Ariadne snorted. "Somehow I sincerely doubt that."

"Now, now Ariadne," the woman tsked. "We're all friends here. In fact, we're the same person."

The architect stayed silent, staring at the far wall.

"Do you know why you're here?" The projection asked. "No, of course not. If you did, you'd be running for the exit right now."

To her credit, Ariadne didn't squirm like most people would when faced with those words.

"You seem like a sweet girl," the woman brushed a strand of hair behind Ariadne's ear. "So I'll tell you why. You're afraid that no one loves you."

"That's not true," Ariadne protested a little too quickly.

"Oh, but it is honey," the projection smiled gleefully.

She walked slowly around her target, like a predator to her angelic, childlike prey.

"Do you know what it's like to be in love?" The projection taunted. "To hold the key to someone else's heart."

"No," Ariadne looked down at her worn-out shoes. "I don't, but that doesn't mean I never will."

"Really?" The projection laughed at the girl's clueless choice of words. "Does Ariadne hold the key to any of your hearts?"

_Silence._

"Anyone?"

Cobb and Eames looked at Arthur, who remained frozen in his seat, staring at the tortured girl with nothing more but pity in his eyes.

"Looks like no one wants you, sweetheart," the projection leered and leaned closer to the girl. "But someone here has a key to your heart. A heart they just shattered into a million pieces, right?"

"Stop it," Ariadne whispered.

"Do you know what it's like to be a lover?"

"To be half of a whole?"

Ariadne stayed silent, though the tears running down her face spoke loud enough.

"Do you?" The projection growled.

"No, I don't," Ariadne answered; the tears staining her face made her look like a little girl, lost and scared with no one to turn to.

"Can I go now?" She asked, somehow managing to keep her voice steady.

The woman smiled, pleased with herself. "Of course. Just be careful who you let in from now on, they'll only let you down."

Arthur watched wordlessly as Ariadne shot up from her seat and walked out of the room, her head held high despite the tears that still fell from her eyes.

* * *

_Just gonna stand there and watch me burn,_  
_But that's alright because I like the way it hurts._  
_Just gonna stand there and hear me cry,_  
_But that's alright because I love the way you lie._

-Love the Way You Lie, Eminem featuring Rihanna

* * *

**don't freak out yet :)**

**thanks for all the ideas!**


	6. Making Up is Hard to Do

"How the _heck_ did we lose her?" Cobb demanded angrily to his friends.

"Well, let's recap shall we," Eames said rather dryly. "Ariadne practically begged our dear Arthur her to be her white knight and come rescue her, but instead of saving her, he just left her waiting in the cold."

"Ah, yes, now I remember," Cobb replied coolly. He matched his tone with the look he was currently giving the point man.

"How is this all my fault?" Arthur asked, annoyed at his friends sarcastic comments.

Eames scoffed in disbelief and amazement at Arthur's, well, plain stupidity. "Useless."

"Arthur," Cobb pointed a hand at his best friend. "I'm not sure if you realize it, but there's something between you and Ariadne, something special. And if _this_ keeps happening, I can't have you both working for me, and right now I'd keep her around, not you."

"Fine," Arthur said, his face tight. "I'll go talk to her."

* * *

Ariadne caught sight of a man about twenty steps from her, sitting on a park bench; a man she had been looking for since the first layer of her dream.

Hurrying her pace, she quietly sat herself down next to him.

"So you work for Cobb and Arthur's former employer, right? The one that wanted to steal something from Saito," she said, never doubting the words she spoke.

The man stared across the way at the lake in front of them, watching some baby turtles swim around. "I'm impressed. Do they know too?"

"No," Ariande shook her head. "They don't know my subconscious like I do. I am curious to know what it's called, however."

"You mean what we did to your subconscious?" The man clarified. "It's called deception."

Ariadne nodded her head. "Appropriate. I still haven't figured out why, though."

He patted her knee reassuringly. "You will, don't worry."

The man stood up to go but turned to her before leaving. "Oh, and you want my advice about Arthur-"

"Thanks, but I already have my own plan," Ariadne smirked.

"Well then, I'm sure it's a great one," the man smiled and walked away.

* * *

Ariadne was still sitting on the same wrought iron bench that she and the man had been occupying before when Arthur finally spotted her.

"Ari, can we talk?" He asked, standing off to the side of her.

"What's there to talk about?" She asked, never switching her gaze from the lake in front of her to the man beside her.

"We're trapped in a dream world that won't let you out unless you face all your fears, and your projections seem to enjoy taunting you to the point where you cry; I think there's a lot to talk about," Arthur replied, while sitting down next to her.

Ariadne sighed. "Look, if this is about what happened back at the bar, it wasn't your fault."

"No, it was _all_ my fault," Arthur protested. "I promised you I wouldn't hurt you, and that's exactly what I did back there. I'm sorry."

"Really?" Ariadne said, moving closer to him.

Arthur's breath halted when he noticed the distance-or lack of-between them. "I really am sorry, Ari," he whispered.

She trailed her finger down the side of his cheek. "Arthur, it isn't your fault."

"It is, Ari," he said, staring into her eyes.

"No, it isn't," she insisted. "It's not your fault Eames doesn't feel the same way I do."

"What?"

* * *

_"What hurts the most_  
_Was being so close_  
_And having so much to say_  
_And watching you walk away"_

_-_What Hurts the Most, Cascada

* * *

**a little short, sorry. any guesses what ariadne's doing?**


	7. The Sounds of Silence

"You, you like _Eames?_!" Arthur asked, incredulous.

Ariadne shrugged, a gesture that only made him more infuriated. It was too innocent, too casual for the conversation they were having.

"Do you?" He repeated, more demanding than before.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," she got up and walked behind him. "Wouldn't you love to know."

A wooden bridge suddenly rose up, creating a walkway over the lake. The young architect walked along her new creation, before stopping midway and leaning across the rail to admire the shinning water.

Arthur noticed Ariadne's golden necklace dangling over the edge of the railing, when the chain snapped and abruptly landed straight in the water with a quiet _plop!_

Ariadne gasped and searched for anything-anything-that could help her retrieve her necklace.

When nothing of interest caught her eye, she quickly removed her black jacket and jumped off the bridge after counting to a very shaky three.

The minute she was fully submerged in the crystalline, blue water, a sea of waves and rough waters precipitously appeared.

When Ariadne was finally able to get her head above the level of water, she was viciously smacked back down under by a violent wave.

The next time she was above the water she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Arthur!"

The point man was already up and running before he even registered his name being called. "Ariadne!"

He plummeted into the rough waters with a graceful, swanlike descent.

The instant his head popped up from the water, he was enclosed in a horrendous environment.

_Pouring Water..._

_Cold..._

_Dark..._

But his mind was only focused on one thing, and one thing only.

"Ariadne!" He shouted again.

A flash of red promptly caught his eye and he knew it as the color of the shirt Ariadne had been wearing.

Swimming as fast as his five years of swim lesson had allowed him to toward the red shirt, he finally came upon the girl.

There she was, trapped under the water, trying to splash and thrash her way up to the surface.

She saw him there, waiting, and her eyes seemed to read the panic they both felt. The truth they both silently accepted.

If they didn't make it out of this, they _weren't_ waking up.

"Grab my hand!" He somehow managed to say between beatings from the waves.

It took three tries, but she was finally able to get a secure enough grip on his wrist, so that he was able to pull her above.

Arthur felt fear take over his body when he felt the emptiness of Ariadne's weight pressed against his.

He was losing her, ever so slowly...

No, he would not lose her. Not now, after everything they'd been through.

"Ariadne, hold on," he whispered to her.

She shivered and it seemed to take all her energy just to nod.

Arthur took a look at his surroundings and spotted the shore a good yard away. He took a deep breath and dove underwater, clutching Ariadne like a stuffed animal.

When he resurfaced, a wave had taken them so they were only now two feet away from the bank of the lake.

"Come on Ari, I'm going to get you through this," he said.

Then, using all his strength, he propelled her over to the sand with a gentle push.

Arthur was about to tread over to safety when a wave suddenly swallowed him up. And no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get back up to the precious air.

The last thing he remembered before everything went dark, was grasping something cold in his left hand.

* * *

_"I'm holding on your rope, _  
_Got me ten feet off the ground_  
_I'm hearin what you say but I just can't make a sound"_

_-Too Late to Apologize, Timbaland _

_

* * *

_**thoughts?**


	8. The Second Time Around

Arthur coughed and inhaled a greedy gulp of air.

_Air..._

He opened his eyes and sat up to a perfect view of the haunting river that had almost sent him to limbo.

Almost sent _her_ into limbo.

Suddenly, a pair of tiny arms wrapped around his chest.

"Oh thank goodness you're awake," Ariadne said into Arthur's ear. "For a second I thought that I had lost you."

Arthur looked over his shoulder and the small girl who was gripping him with twice the amount of strength she appeared to have. "What happened?"

"Oh my gosh," she gasped. "Do you have amnesia?"

He opened his mouth to correct her, but she was already pacing with worry.

"Never mind, that's a stupid question," she fretted. "You wouldn't remember because, well, you can't-"

"Ariadne," he silenced her ramblings. "I'm perfectly fine, I promise. I just want to know what happened after the wave hit me."

When she started to explain what had exactly happened, he noticed a trail of blood running down the side of her face, leading to a huge gash on her temple.

"You're hurt," he said, tilting her head in his hand.

Ariadne's hand self-consciously rose to meet her cut. "Oh that, it's nothing. I just hit my head on something when I was stuck in the water."

"You might need stitches," he murmured, tracing his hand along her face gingerly.

"Arthur," she stopped his hand, resting it along the bottom of her eye. "I'm fine."

The two stared into each other's eyes, neither making the move the both subconsciously wanted.

Finally, Ariadne cleared her throat and shifted her line of vision over to the river.

"That was some rescue mission," she laughed.

Arthur snorted and laid back down on his elbows. "I really don't consider _that_ a rescue mission."

"Come on," Ariadne bumped his shoulder with her own. "You totally pulled a James Bond back there."

"James Bond never needed to be rescued himself, though," Arthur replied.

Ariadne smiled and ran her hand through her hair. "I lost my locket though. It used to belong to my grandmother."

At her words, Arthur suddenly realized the cold, heavy feeling in his left hand.

Slowly, he uncurled his hand to reveal Ariadne's necklace.

"Arthur you saved it!" She proclaimed happily, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I owe you big time!"

"Well, here, let me put it back on," he said.

He slowly pushed her hair over one of her shoulders and fastened the necklace on, making sure it was secure this time.

"Thank you, Arthur," Ariadne said, hugging him. "I'm always so afraid I'll lose it."

Arthur was about to say something, when a familiar British voice rang out.

"Why are you two wet?"

* * *

_"You think I'm pretty_  
_Without any make-up on_  
_You think I'm funny_  
_When I tell the puch line wrong"_

_-Teenage Dream, Katy Perry_

_

* * *

_**a little short, but i hope the quality is good for you guys. **

**what would you guys like to see happen?**


	9. Blind Spot

"So you jumped in the river all _Spider-Man _style?" Eames howled with laughter.

"Excus me," Ariadne protested from her spot on the park grass. "I am no way as whiny as that Mary Jane girl."

"My apologizes, darling," the forger grinned and patted her head. "How about _Superman_? Okay judging by the look on your face, I'm going to retract my last statement."

"Are you two sure you're okay?" Cobb asked, placing three tiny strips of medical tape across Ariadne's cut.

She nodded. "I feel a little lightheaded, but that's it."

"And that's not from the accident," Eames muttered teasingly.

"Come on, Eames," Ariadne said flirtatiously. "You know I only have eyes for you."

Arthur stiffened at his co-workers playful, coy banter. Every kittenish word felt like a needle being thrust into him; twisting and turning, but never coming out.

His earlier conversation with Ariadne played through his head on an endless loop.

_"You like Eames?"_

_"Maybe I do, maybe I don't."_

The words alone had driven him crazy, but her demeanor about the whole thing was what startled him the most.

She was _calm..._

_controlled..._

_seductive..._

She knew that he was wrapped around her finger, and she was loving every minute of it.

But, did she really like_ Eames_?

"Arthur."

The point man was driven from his rambling thoughts, by Cobb, who was standing in front of him impatiently.

"Yes?"

"We need to talk," Cobb eyes were wild, he looked, well, scared. "Now."

* * *

"I know what you're doing, darling," Eames smirked. "And might I say, well done."

"What am I doing, exactly?" The young girl asked, her features arched in faux innocence.

"You're messing with our dear ole' stick-in-the-mud," the forger replied.

Ariadne snorted. "You want me to stop?"

"No, no," he quickly brushed the idea away. "I love seeing his knickers all bundled up."

Her brows scrunched up. "Excuse me?"

"Keep messing with Arthur," Eames instructed. "He's always the player, but he never gets played."

Ariadne nodded her head in thought. "Interesting."

* * *

"What's wrong Cobb?" Arthur asked, tiredly.

All he wanted was to be done with this dream; to wake up and finally sort things out with Ariadne.

_Finally confess that he was falling for her._

"Look, I've been doing some thinking and there's something I need to tell you about," Cobb explained hurriedly.

Now Arthur was curious. "What?"

"Look, we both know there's a lot of things you can do to a dreamer. Extraction, inception, but there's one I've never told you about. It's called deception."

"Deception?"

Cobb nodded. "It's when you plant an idea in the subconscious, so the projections will take over the dream."

"That sounds like exactly what happened to Ariadne."

"It _is_ what happened to her," Cobb agreed. But the thing about deception is that it's much different from what extraction and inception are."

"How?"

"Well, we were told that what happened to Ariadne was her own subconsciousness's doing, but that's not true. During deception, a person plants an idea in the mark's dreams, but someone else's projections pick it up."

"So someone is controlling all this?" Arthur realized.

"Yes, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. Ariadne is the mark, but she also built this dream world."

Arthur nodded his head. "Which means these are all someone else's projections. But who?"

Cobb turned to his friend.

"_Yours."_

_

* * *

_

"Till all my sleeves are stained red  
From all the truth that I've said  
Come by it honestly I swear,"

-Secrets, One Republic

* * *

**you're not confused right?**


	10. Mistakes Were Made

"Tell me something I don't know about you," Eames requested. "Something that would surprise me."

He and Ariadne were laying down in the dream park, waiting for Cobb and Arthur to finish up the secluded, clandestine conversation they were partaking in.

"Why?" The young architect mused.

"Because we're friends, and that's what friends do," he explained. "They share secrets with each other."

Ariadne found herself laughing at his justification. "Okay, let's see," she racked her brain, trying to come up with something that would astonish the imaginative forger. "Well, Robert Fischer is my brother."

The forger sat up speedily. "What?"

"Hey, hey," she held her hands up innocently. "I'm just kidding, no need to tackle me."

Eames glared at the juvenile girl. "That was _not _funny. As your friend, I am very offended, but also a little proud."

"What do you think they're talking about?" Ariadne asked after a few seconds of silence.

The forger crossed his arms behind his head and laid back down. "Cobb is probably explaining to Arthur how it was his projection that tortured you in that last level."

"What?" Ariadne asked, thrown off.

"You see, darling," Eames elaborated. "There is this thing called deception where someone else's projections take over the mark's subconscious. And in this case, Arthur seems to be the unlucky one who is controlling this dream."

"But, why is he doing this to me?"

"Deception runs on an emotion," the forger described. "And for this dream, it seems that Arthur's strongest emotion is anger."

Ariadne was silent for a while, digesting the information.

"He's an idiot," she declared after getting her thoughts in order. "You want to know something about me? I thought I loved Arthur, but not anymore."

"Darling-"

But she was already up and running.

_Running away..._

"Ariadne!"

* * *

"You're crazy, Cobb," Arthur declared crisply. "This time you've really, _really_ lost it."

"Arthur-"

"No!" The point man ignored his friend. "I extracted information right from a projection."

"Think about it, Arthur," Cobb said carefully. "Did Ariadne ever tell you the information you extracted?"

"I don't think..." He trailed off as a memory suddenly flashed through his head.

_"Can someone help me clean up tonight?" Arthur asked, frustrated. _

_"I can't," Ariadne smiled apologetically. "I have a dance thing at school tonight, which I'm already late for."_

_"Just make sure to rip the boys hearts out after you dance with them," Eames winked. _

_Ariadne laughed. "Yeah, I don't think that'll happen. I never ask anyone to dance."_

_"Why's that?" The forger asked._

_"Because then they can't say no," she winked and headed out the door._

"So, I'm doing this to Ariadne?" Arthur asked, shaken up. "I'm torturing her, and making her cry."

"Yes, but you don't know you're doing it," Cobb explained. "See, deception runs on an emotion, and my first thought was love. But this isn't love."

"Well than what is it?"

"Anger," Cobb answered solemnly. "And in order for us to get out of here, I need to know why you're angry at Ariadne."

Arthur closed his eyes as all the moments he and the architect had shared came rushing through his head.

Just as the tiny bits of a memory were starting to form themselves in his head, they were interrupted by a brash voice.

"Cobb, she knows, I told her," Eames explained hurriedly.

"And what happened?" Cobb asked angrily.

"She ran away."

* * *

_"You don't have to call anymore_  
_I won't pick up the phone_  
_This is the last straw_  
_Don't wanna hurt anymore"_

_-_You're Not Sorry, Taylor Swift


	11. What is & What Never Should Be

"Why did you tell her?" Arthur asked, somehow managing to stay calm.

"Because she asked me," Eames said, as if the point man's question was as simple as the answer to 1+1. "And I think she's been lied to enough by you two."

"This isn't of your concern, Eames," Arthur said coolly. "Stop trying to act like you're her friend."

The forger grabbed his friend's shoulder roughly. "Ariadne _is _my friend, and that makes this mine concern."

"Both of you stop it," Cobb demanded. "Look, this is a lot for anyone to handle so let's just give Ariadne some time to...deal."

"Cobb we have to consider the idea that she might," Arthur couldn't finish his sentence.

"That she might just send herself to limbo," his friend completed for him. "She's a smart girl, I trust her judgement. She is not going to shoot herself."

"If anything, she'll probably send you there," Eames muttered to Arthur.

Arthur rolled his eyes at his co-worker's comment, but was admittedly a little shaken up. "So what are we going to do Cobb?"

"Let's go look for her, the sooner we find her the sooner we can all go home."

* * *

Arthur walked a few yards away from Cobb and Eames, pondering his...interesting situation.

He tried to remain calm and collected. After all it was his job to be the support for the team.

But this, this dealt with Ariadne and he had always been weak when it came to the young architect.

For some reason, he just could not get her out of his head.

Her laugh...

Her smile...

The way she didn't put up with being lied to...

Which brings him back to the issue at hand. He knew deep down in his heart that he cared deeply for her-maybe even loved her. But she had walked away from him, walked away from this world.

And suddenly, he remembers why he was mad at her, why he wanted to torture her with projections.

_He remembers that day when everything changed..._

* * *

Ariadne dunk her feet in the pond, enjoying the cooling sensation it brought to her.

"What happened to your plan?"

She turned around and saw her old 'friend' standing behind her.

"You didn't tell me Arthur was the controlling force behind all this," she replied as he sat down next to her.

"If it makes you feel better, he didn't know he was powering this dream," the man said comfortingly. "We needed an emotion and his happened to be a particularly strong one."

Ariadne swished her feet around. "But why anger? Why is he angry at me?"

The man shrugged. "I don't know, sorry. I'm surprised myself."

She paused at his choice of words. "You didn't know it was anger that's powering the dream?"

"No, that's above my ranking."

"Well, you must at least have an opinion," Ariadne asserted.

"It doesn't matter why you're here," the man replied dismissively. "All you should be worried about is getting out."

Ariadne shook her head, amused at how easy he made it seem. "And how do I do that?"

The man smiled at her. "Shoot Arthur.

* * *

_"Thought that I was the exception,_  
_I could have rewrite your addiction,_  
_You could've been the greatest,_  
_But you'd rather get wasted."_

_-_Circle the Drain, Katy Perry

* * *

**i won't be updating as frequently, but please still review :)**


	12. Realizing the Whole, Scary Truth

_Lightning rattled the glass pane windows in Ariadne's apartment, causing her to inadvertently jump and slice her palm of the sculpting knife she was holding._

_The door bell rang just as she started searching for a bandage. _

_"Just a minute!" She called out, scrambling frantically to cover up her bleeding hand._

_When Ariadne finally did open the door she was surprised to find a certain point man waiting for her. _

_"Arthur? What are you doing here?"_

_"I need to talk to you," he stumbled into her apartment, slurring his words._

_She took in his odd appearance-messed up hair, slanted tie-and came to the conclusion that Arthur was indeed drunk._

_"You're drunk, Arthur," Ariadne fretted. "The only thing you need to do is lay down."_

_"No," he insisted, falling down on her couch. "We need to talk about us."_

_Ariadne felt her heart speed up. Quickly, she cleared her throat. "Us?"_

_"Yes, us," he repeated again. "I don't know why, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about that kiss."_

_"Which means?"_

_Arthur sighed. "I like you Ariadne. You're pretty and smart and funny..."_

_"That's so sweet Arthur, but I-I don't like you, like that," she lied. As much as it pained her to say the words, she knew Arthur needed to leave. _

_"What?" _

_"I'm sorry Arthur, but I can't help how I feel, or don't feel," she said, softly. "I'm going to go call you a cab. What hotel are you staying at?"_

_Ariadne tried to ignore the pained look in his eyes as she walked him to the cab._

___He's drunk, Ariadne, she reminded herself, he won't remember any of this..._

___

* * *

_But the young architect was wrong. Horribly, wrong.

Arthur may not have remembered the details of that night; just a fuzzy memory of visiting Ariadne, but his subconscious remembered it all.

His subconscious was raging with anger, anger at Ariadne for breaking his unbreakable heart.

And somehow, Cobb and Arthur's old employer just happened to find out about Arthur.

_They knew he was losing control..._

_Slowly breaking inside..._

So they used that to start this whole dream game, and they used Ariadne as their mark.

"Arthur keep up!" Eames called out to the man lagging behind. The make-shift search party hadn't spotted Ariadne yet.

The point man heard his friends call out to him, but it was too late.

_She hurt him..._

Water erupted from the near-by lake.

_She caused him so much emotional pain..._

The bridge that Ariadne had created collapsed into a giant hole.

_And now?_

_Now she must suffer!_

Arthur heard an agonizing scream that he knew to be Ariadne's, and before he could even register the destruction he had caused...created actually. He was up and running...

Straight into the barrel of a gun.

* * *

_"Listen to yourself_  
_You're a hot mess_  
_St-t-stutter through your words_  
_Breaking a sweat_  
_What's it gonna take to confess_  
_What we both know"_

_-Kiss n Tell, Ke$ha_

_

* * *

_**so sorry this took so long, i've been working on a story for psych and it sadly hasn't been getting a lot of reviews so please check it out and review if you like that show :)**

**final chapter coming next**


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